1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to glass manufacturing and, more particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for charging an electric glass furnace and a method for completely distributing glass batch over the surface of molten glass in an electric glass furnace to form a complete batch cover or blanket over the molten glass.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the manufacture of glass, unmelted glass making materials, such as scrap glass or cullet, sand, limestone, soda ash, feldspar, etc., are charged into one end of the furnace where they are melted and delivered through a throat for further processing thereof. The glass batch is electrically heated in the furnace. As the unmelted glass-making materials are fed into the furnace, the unmelted batch ingredients float on the surface of molten glass in the furnace to form a batch cover or blanket.
In the prior art, it has been difficult to form a complete batch cover or blanket over the surface of hot molten glass in the furnace. As a result, areas of hot glass are often exposed through openings in the batch cover, for example along the sidewalls of the furnace or in the vicinity of the end wall opposite the one on which the charger is mounted. The openings in the batch cover allow the heat to escape from the furnace so that additional power input is needed to heat the glass, resulting in consequential increased operating cost. In addition to this problem, the uncovered areas create numerous operating problems. In an effort to overcome these problems, the batch composition or formulas are often altered in an attempt to compensate for the uncovered areas. Additionally, crusted areas may form over these uncovered areas of that glass which can result in eruption or foaming over of the glass from the furnace. Such eruption or foaming over is extremely dangerous because of the high temperatures involved and results in otherwise unnecessary machine down time and consequential increased operating costs.
Also, in the prior art, the batch ingredients freely fell from the charger into the furnace, thereby causing a severe dust problem, because of the fine ingredients used, which creates both a health and a pollution problem.